Frankie Edgar battered Yair Rodriguez on the canvas at UFC 211, forcing the referee to stop the action at the end of the second round.
‘The Answer’ came into the fight fresh off a decision victory over Jeremy Stephens at UFC 205 last November. Fighting his twenty-eighth professional bout on the end, it really was a case of ‘The Veteran vs. The Newcomer.’
‘El Pantera’ was on the other end of the spectrum, coming into this UFC 211 bout with only eleven professional fights under his belt; his most recent was a one-sided mauling over the UFC hall of famer BJ Penn.
The Mexican felt that Edgar was disrespecting him in the lead up to this fight, as the New Jersey native stated it was a “win win” situation for Rodriguez regardless of the result.
Straight away Edgar put Rodriguez on the back foot, forcing him against the cage and landing an early takedown. Posturing up and landing some strikes from Yair’s open guard, the onslaught continued for the rest of the first round.
Huge shots by @FrankieEdgar land on Yair! #UFC211 pic.twitter.com/IvXwHZJfup
— UFC (@ufc) May 14, 2017
The left eye of ‘El Pantera’ was instantly swollen up at the end of the first round. After Edgar landed another takedown in the second round, Rodriguez threatened a knee-bar attempt but ‘The Answer’ did a good job of breaking free and securing a dominant position on the ground.
After the end of the second round, Rodriguez’s eye was unbelievable swollen that the referee decided to call a stop the action, granting Edgar the 22nd win of his professional MMA career.
It’s unclear what is next for Edgar. The featherweight division’s current champion Jose Aldo is scheduled to defend his belt against interim champion Max Holloway at UFC 212 next month. Whether Edgar will be granted the next shot against the victor is yet unknown.
Official result: Frankie Edgar def. Yair Rodriguez via TKO (doctor’s stoppage) at 5:00 of R2
